OHIO — This year's top Christmas candy for Ohio may a surprising one to some if they aren't familiar with candystore.com's annual ranking

Candystore.com, an online bulk candy store, compiled more than 16,000 responses across the U.S. this year to tally the top three Christmas candies for each state, and for Ohio, chocolate santas are by far the favorite — the same as its favorite in 2021.

Ohio's next two favorite Christmas candies also stayed the same: Hershey kisses placed second and peppermint bark placed third, according to the survey.

Candystore.com also asked respondents about the worst Christmas candy. In order, they are:

  • Christmas nouget candy
  • Reindeer corn
  • Cherry cordials
  • Lifesaver candybooks
  • Non-peppermint candy canes
  • Old-fashioned hard candy mix
  • Peeps
  • Ribbon candy
  • Peppermint bark
  • Orange-flavored chocolate

Here are some key takeaways:

The Peppermint Bark Downfall

This year, peppermint bark lost six No. 1 spots across the U.S. Last year, it gained three No. 1 spots. 

Candy Cane Cooldown

Candy canes are right there with peppermint bark. It fell from four No. 1 spots this year, 

KitKats Kicking In

KitKat has never had a No. 1 showing on candystore.com's list — that is, until this year. And there's two No. 1 spots for it. Massachusetts and Oklahoma prefer KitKats at Christmas, but last year, their No. 1 favorite was candy canes. 

Starbursts Spiking in Popularity

Starbursts isn't typically a holiday candy, but two states — Wisconsin and Nevada — said it's their favorite candy this time of the year.